


Elevated

by haikyuuliberos



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Pre-Canon, They're second years, Training Camp, because what else would i write about tbh, nobody is even reading the tags are they
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 02:39:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9946598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haikyuuliberos/pseuds/haikyuuliberos
Summary: “Are you Oikawa Tooru?” a voice asked.*Or, that one time where Oikawa Tooru met Bokuto Koutarou.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blackandorange](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackandorange/gifts).



> /peers out of shadows/ hello it me
> 
> B!!!! oh my goD i know it's been like a week but happy birthday! i love you so much and i'm glad we started talking that one random time because i love our conversations! so sorry for the... wait.... but i hope this makes up for all the teasers and the gif responses.

“Are you Oikawa Tooru?” a voice asked.  Raising his eyebrows, Oikawa turned around, coming face to face with a very eccentric-looking player.  He had white and black hair sticking up from his head and knee pads that went up past his thighs - Oikawa was definitely intrigued by his looks, but he had a muscular build that definitely didn’t hurt.

“Yes,” Oikawa tilted his chin up.  “And you are…?”

“Bokuto Koutarou!” the player shoved his hand forward with a blinding grin, his golden eyes as bright as his smile.  The name sounded familiar to Oikawa, who tentatively reached out to reciprocate his handshake.

“Nice to meet you,” the setter said.

“You’re from Miyagi prefecture, right?” Bokuto bubbled.   _Does this guy ever stop talking?_ “You’re pretty far from home!”

“Well, I was _invited_ to this camp, after all,” Oikawa said, grabbing a volleyball off the floor.

“We all were!” Bokuto exclaimed.  “Say, can you toss to me?  I need to warm up a bit!”

Oikawa agreed, “Sure.”  He didn’t know how to explain it, but there was something almost _magnetic_ about Bokuto; of course he stood out compared to the rest of the players, just appearance-wise, but there was something else about him, too.   _What the hell_ , Oikawa thought.   _I’m going to get_ something _out of this camp._ They were barely into day one and he had managed to make an acquaintance.  Not that he _didn’t_ want to, but it was always harder to focus on himself when there were other people involved.

Oikawa threw the ball in the air before tossing it towards the left side of the court, watching as Bokuto surged forward and into the air.  He slammed the ball into the floor and the entire gym seemed to stop at the loud thud of the ball.

“Great set!” Bokuto chuckled.  “Another?”

“Mhm,” Oikawa hummed, grabbing another ball.  After watching that spectacle of a hit, Oikawa was ready to toss to Bokuto again.  The two of them continued for a while, until the head of the camp called the team into the center.

The day was filled with drills, scrimmages, and lots of running (for some reason).  Oikawa - one who was _always_ on the court - found himself out of breath quite often and felt ready to collapse at any moment.  His counterpart, though, seemed to be doing just fine.  Bokuto was taking the laps like a champion and brought a really contagious energy onto the court that kept the other players going even when their lungs burned.

Setting to Bokuto was indescribable: it wasn’t like setting to Iwaizumi, who Oikawa had complete faith in.  It was so _completely_ different, in fact - Oikawa had this fragile trust in a player who he had just met a few hours before, yet he almost physically felt the electricity of his spikes just from tossing to him.  His veins fizzed and it was enthralling to watch.  Bokuto could hit killer straights without appearing to exert too much effort, but he could switch it around and hit insane crosses.  The block didn’t even faze him, and Oikawa knew after just a few tosses in the beginning of their scrimmage that, _yeah, this guy is ace material_.

Bokuto had taken a liking to Oikawa, which the latter definitely didn’t mind - even though he was a social butterfly, he couldn’t help but feel a little isolated from the rest of the players, most of whom were from Tokyo and already knew each other.  Bokuto had basically glued himself to Oikawa’s side, and the two of them ate by each other during food breaks, slept on the floor by each other, and warmed up together every day.  Over the days, Oikawa grew used to the bubbly, warm atmosphere that Bokuto brought.  He had even dubbed Bokuto ‘Kou-chan’ (which the spiker seemed to _preen_ at the sound of the nickname), while Bokuto just stuck with ‘Oikawa’, even though the stress on the syllables varied depending on his mood.

Volleyball had always been fun, but volleyball with Bokuto… it was _wildly_ fun.  Bokuto was a consistent player all around and, very much like Iwaizumi, Oikawa could set him in a pinch and the team would score the point.  Bokuto had an uncanny way of getting around the blockers, as if _knew_ where they were going to block before they even acted on it, and his body radiated pure strength that was evident in the power of his spikes when they slammed into the floor.  His reactions were priceless each time, too.

They had begun spending more time with each other, too, outside of their daily activities; they stayed up late talking and would spend their downtime walking the halls or finding places to relax and just, well, _talk_.

“Best teammate?” Bokuto asked.  The two were trading questions back and forth about their teams, Seijou and Fukurodani, to get to know each other better.

“Easy,” Oikawa leaned back.  “Iwa-chan!”

“Tell me about this guy,” Bokuto smiled.  “You talk about him a lot!”

“He’s my best friend,” Oikawa began.  “We’ve been playing volleyball since… forever, basically.  He’s the ace, even though he’s a second year like me, which is really impressive, and he helps keep the team in check when they don’t feel like listening to me.”

Bokuto nodded his head, “Interesting.”

“And you?”

“For me?  Akaashi Keiji!” Bokuto gushed, spreading his arms wide.  “He’s a first year setter, but he’s so awesome!  He always sets to me without me even asking, and he’s super smart.  He’s kind of sarcastic, though… but he never means it!”

“Sarcasm is quite entertaining,” Oikawa laughed.

“True that,” Bokuto grinned.  It always made Oikawa’s heart beat a little faster whenever he looked at Bokuto’s smiling face - it wasn’t just his lips, of course not, his whole face lit up beautifully.  “ _Ooh_ , this is a good one.  Biggest rival!”

“Ushijima Wakatoshi,” Oikawa immediately replied.  “He is the _worst_.”

“That was fast,” Bokuto tilted his head sideways, almost like a puppy.  “Why him?”

“He thinks he’s so good!” the setter sighed.  “He’s ‘so strong’ and ‘so incredible’ and honestly he’s just… it’s so frustrating.”  
Bokuto nodded his head eagerly, “Yeah!  I know how you feel!  He’s one of the top spikers in our grade, and I just want to… yeah!”

“That’s different.  I… I _hate_ him.”

“ _Hate_ him?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow.  “He didn’t… _do_ anything, did he?”

“He wanted me to go play at Shiratorizawa,” Oikawa explained.  “He wanted me to leave everything and _everyone_ behind to play at his school.”  Oikawa felt his blood practically boiling with each word, each single _thought_ he had about Ushijima and abandoning Iwaizumi for him.  It was making him angry that Bokuto seemed so defensive of _him_ \- shouldn’t he _support_ Oikawa?

“Ushijima Wakatoshi wanted _you_ to play with him?  That’s awesome!”  
“No, it’s not!” Oikawa retorted.  “He’s selfish, and annoying, and-”

“I don’t think you should _hate_ him for asking you to play at his school,” Bokuto interrupted.  His voice changed from the lighthearted, lively tone to something softer, more serious.  “I think that’s something to be proud of.”

“But I want to _beat_ him.”

“We all do!” Bokuto said.  “He’s a great player - damn, he pisses me right off, I assure you - but I don’t hate him for it.  I’m sure he doesn’t mean to come off as rude!  People don’t just… _try_ to be mean.”

‘Really?” Oikawa scoffed.  “You don’t think people _try_ to be mean?”

“I mean-”

“Because I could very well be mean if I wanted to,” Oikawa snapped.

“Hey,” Bokuto reached out and touched Oikawa’s hand gently, and the latter forced himself to yank his hand back.  “Sorry I asked about Ushijima-”

“You know what?” Oikawa stood up, his chest heaving up and down.  “Maybe you should just be quiet and not talk so much, huh?  You’ll just… piss people off.”  He threw his blanket down on the floor and stormed out of the room, gritting his teeth.

“Oikawa, wait-”

“Just leave me alone, okay?” Oikawa stopped for just a moment, risking turning his head to meet Bokuto’s eyes.  They were wide and sad, but Oikawa pushed away the choking feeling in his chest and left the room, trading his company with Bokuto for a dark hallway with only himself to keep company.

When Oikawa returned, though, Bokuto was gone.

  


The next day was a disaster.  Literally.

Bokuto had avoided Oikawa the whole morning - actually, Oikawa didn’t even see Bokuto until their first training session of the day, and even then, he avoided Oikawa like the plague.  Oikawa initially tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach, which was _definitely_ not regret for his words the night before, but every time he even glanced at Bokuto, guilt rolled over him in one heavy wave.

However, Oikawa wasn’t the only one struggling; all the spunk and positive energy Bokuto had brought to the court the past few days had completely evaporated, and all the powerful spikes were nowhere to be found.  If he was _lucky_ Bokuto could hit the ball over the net, but even then, it would fly out of bounds.  Oikawa was beyond frustrated - at himself, at the team’s failure to pick up on Bokuto’s slack, and lastly, for some _pestering_ reason: Bokuto.  Oikawa was frustrated that Bokuto couldn’t get himself out of his ‘funk,’ per say, and he only got more upset with each spike.

“His ‘dejected’ mode,” one of the Tokyo players snickered to one of his companions.  Oikawa whipped his head around before approaching them.

“What?” Oikawa asked.

“Apparently he’ll sometimes get into this mood and he can’t do _anything_ right,” the same player explained, leaning against the wall behind him.

“Doesn’t that happen with everyone?” Oikawa raised an eyebrow.  “Everyone gets frustrated with themselves.”

The player laughed, “Not like this.”  The two then walked away, leaving the setter by himself.  Oikawa looked over at Bokuto, who was spiking off of one of the other setters - Miya? - and slammed his palm against the ball, only for the ball to sink into the net.  Miya clapped his hands lightly as Bokuto tugged at his hair, and Oikawa decided he’d had enough.  

He marched over before sweetly smiling at Miya, dismissing him, “Mind if I get some tosses in?”

“Oh?” Miya furrowed his eyebrows, and Oikawa definitely did not miss the mischievous glimmer in his eyes.  Much to Oikawa’s annoyance, Miya was one of the snarkier, more perceptive players in the training camp ( _Not at all like_ myself _,_ Oikawa bitterly thought), and the two silently butt heads a few times.  “I’m actually good, but-”

“Oh, but Atsumu-chan,” Oikawa pat Miya’s shoulder before shoving him away.  “I _insist_.”  Miya’s grin morphed into a frown before he shrugged and walked away, back towards the Tokyo players from before.  “Kou-chan~”

“What?” the spiker’s tone caught Oikawa off guard.  Oikawa never thought that someone so genuinely warm and boisterous could also lace their words with sharp venom - it caused Oikawa’s breath to stick to his throat.  “What do you want?”

“Bokuto,” Oikawa replied curtly.  Bokuto straightened himself, reminding Oikawa that he was, in fact, the powerful tall spiker from the day before, and narrowed his eyes.  The gold held a tone that Oikawa hadn’t yet seen - it wasn’t fiery and warm, more distant yet intrigued.  “Everyone has bad moments.”

“Are you just going to tell me how much I suck?” Bokuto snapped.  “Since you can ‘be mean if you want to?’  I’m not _stupid_ , Oikawa.”  Oikawa took a deep breath, processing Bokuto’s words as the two locked eyes.  He bounced a ball before spinning it between his hands.  He had Bokuto’s attention now, and he walked back towards the setter’s spot.

“I know you’re not stupid,” Oikawa said.  “I can be mean, you can be mean… but I’m not here to be mean.  I’m going to toss to you and you’re going to spike this ball.”

“If I’m lucky,” Bokuto scoffed.  Oikawa ignored him and threw the ball in the air, jumping up and tossing it towards Bokuto.  The spiker ran across the court and jumped up, making a good contact with the ball, but it still hit the top of the net before falling over.

“My bad,” Oikawa lied.  “It was tight.”  He grabbed another ball as a surprised Bokuto jogged back to his place.  They repeated it again, Oikawa flicking his wrists and watching Bokuto fly through the air.   _Come on, come_ on-

This time, Bokuto leapt into the air with a little more hunger, a predatory determination rippling through his aura.  He hit the ball and the ball slammed into the floor with a satisfying boom.  The players all turned to look at their court to see Bokuto’s surprised expression and Oikawa’s smug grin.

“Nice spike,” Oikawa approved, grabbing another ball.  “Again?”  Bokuto nodded his head aggressively, the slightest hint of a smile evident on his lips, and ran back to his spot on the court.

Before they could practice more, the coach split the players into teams.  Fortunately, Bokuto and Oikawa were on the same team, and Oikawa seized the opportunity to get Bokuto back into his rhythm.  It sure as hell wasn’t pretty at first, and Bokuto nearly went into his ‘dejected mode’ again, but by the end of it, Bokuto had scored 4 kills in a row with minimal issues.  The coach decided this was the perfect time to end the scrimmage and dismissed them all to go eat.

“ _Woo-hoo!”_ Bokuto pumped his fists before shoving Oikawa’s shoulders.  “You’re the man!”

“Oh, I know,” Oikawa joked, a laugh trailing behind.  “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Oi _kawa_!”  The two of them laughed as they grabbed their towels, walking through the corridor towards the cafeteria.  Their laughs faded and they walked in silence, only the sounds of their feet echoing through the hallway.  The sinking feeling grabbed ahold of Oikawa’s chest again, and he looked at the wall to keep from looking at Bokuto.

“Sorry about that,” Bokuto mumbled.

“Hm?”

“That whole... Fiasco,” Bokuto obviously forced a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.  “Sometimes I just get frustrated and… yeah.  Sorry.  I was hoping it wouldn’t happen during the camp… usually Akaashi is pretty good about helping me out, but since he wasn’t around… I was afraid of scaring me off.”

“Scaring me off?” Oikawa choked.  “It’ll take a lot more to get rid of me!”  He laughed, but it died away as he glanced at Bokuto, who was studying him.  “But seriously.  It happens to everyone and… Bokuto, you’re a talented player.  I could’ve singled you out from the moment I walked in the gym.  You’re… really something.”

“What?”

“You’re fun to play with,” Oikawa admitted.  “You make volleyball fun in a way that I’ve never really experienced.  So… thanks.”  Bokuto didn’t immediately say anything, just smiling softly and bumping his shoulder against Oikawa’s.

“You’re better than you give yourself credit for,” Bokuto broke the silence. “You give me great tosses every time!  It’s like you’re always trying to prove something that doesn’t… well, doesn’t need to be proved.”  Oikawa stopped in his tracks, Bokuto copying him.  “You don’t need to prove anything to Ushiwaka, let alone _anyone._ ”

Oikawa tried to find something to say - _anything_ \- searching his mind and tongue for any word, but he just stood there, his mouth agape as he stared at Bokuto.  The spiker offered a little smile until it erupted into his characteristic grin as he grabbed Oikawa’s wrist and nearly dragged him off.

“We’re going to miss our serving of lunch if we don’t get going!”

Oikawa let out a laugh, his breath catching in his throat as Bokuto’s fingers slipped from his wrist and laced into his own as they raced down the hallway.  This boy was full of surprises, but Oikawa wasn’t complaining.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: haikyuuliberos
> 
> sidenote/  
> working on College AU 1) a new name and 2) the next chapter b/c we said i would be like... a week... and now it's been like a month and a half so SO SORRY we were going through the chapter and it... was a disaster so we scrapped it an are starting fresh. thank you all for your patience!!


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